Knights of the Rose
by OrpheusBladedge
Summary: When a nine-year-old girl Ib is thrown into a hellish world, she, accompanied by her friends, must find a way to escape. A retelling of the game Ib, with a few twists. Summery inside. M for gore and mature themes.
1. A Summery

_**A Summery**_

Hey all.

Now, this is the beginning of a new story! (no shit Sherlock)

After playing Ib about five times to get all the endings, and reading some fanfics of it, I thought I would put my hand to the challenge!

This is basically a retelling of Ib, with a few OCs.

As the title suggests, they will be KNIGHTS! (EXCITED!)

So, before I start the story, I need some help.

There will be five knights, but I only have names for three of them. If anyone could suggest some knight-sounding names, that would be great!

Also, each knight will have their own rose, so if you submit a name, make sure to tell me what his/her rose colour is!

The knights so far:

* * *

Roland: The main and youngest knight, who is 16 and slightly smaller than Garry. Short, but strong.

Rose Colour: Multi-Coloured (Rainbow)

Armour Colour: Sliver.

Sword Colour: Silver.

* * *

Gareth: 36 years old, who is tall and strong, but slow.

Rose Colour: Dark Blue (Nearly black, not quite navy)

Armour Colour: Navy

Sword Colour: Navy.

* * *

Sonja: 18 years old, she is hot-headed and always jumps to conclusions. Lithe and athletic.

Rose Colour: Red (Identical to Ib's)

Armour Colour: Dark Red.

Sword Colour: Two-Tone, Red and Silver (Streaks)

* * *

The Following knights were created by people other than me.

Lilly: She has long, wavy black hair with a fake lily, snow white skin, blood red lips, bright, intelligent almond-shaped green eyes, rosy pink cheeks, skinny, average height, slightly pointed ears, pearly white teeth.

Rose Colour: Cerulean.

Armour Colour: Midnight Black

Sword Colour: Three-Tone Gold, Silver and Black

* * *

The first two chapters will only feature Roland (out of all the knights), but chapter 3 will feature the others.

You can PM me with your knights, or leave a review with their information.

I will give full credit for your knights, so NO STEALING!

The story will be told from Ib's and Garry's points of view. There may be sections were the point of view will shift to Roland, but it will only be very briefly.

I'm excited…

Before anyone asks, YES! This marks the return of P5: The Worlds Cross, and the continuation of P4: Project Silent! I've got two chapter of Project Silent ready to go, and I'll upload them after this, but I hope you will all support me on my journey through the Distorted World!

Thanks, and stay tuned!


	2. Chapter 1: The Gallery

**Welcome! Let's get this party started!**

Chapter 1: The Gallery

"Ib, are you listing?" My Mother said, as we walked through the front doors.

"Yes, mother." I replied.

"Good. Now, why don't you go have a look around and see Guertena's works?" Mother said, passing some money over to the clerk.

"Yes, mother." I replied again.

"Oh, Ib? Do you have your handkerchief?" My father asked, leaning around my mother.

I simply nodded, hoping it would sate him.

It did.

"Okay then, Ib. Go have some fun." Father said, and returned to talking with the clerk.

I walked off up the stairs.

insert space here

My name is Ib. I'm nine years old, and my family is very wealthy. We decided to some to see Guertena's works for a small vacation, but really it's because Father has to work here.

I miss home.

I walked around the top floor, admiring the paintings. Some of the words I couldn't understand, but I managed. Eventually, I came to a small painting.

_The Hanged Man_

I recognised the picture. It was on my deck of Tarot cards that Mother bought me for my eighth birthday.

"An interesting painting, isn't it?"

I turned my head, to see a tall boy. He wasn't old, like father. He still had a childish face, but his height rivalled Fathers. He had a green singlet on, and a tattered navy blue coat. His hair was light purple, with dark purple strips at the top.

"Yes. It is." I replied, turning back to the painting.

"_The Hanged Man_. A pretty strange representation of the twelfth arcana, isn't it?" He said, and smirked slightly at me.

_He's testing me…_

"Not at all. I, in fact, have a Tarot deck with this exact picture for the Hanged Man arcana." I replied, smirking slightly as well.

"Really? That's a pretty rare card. Probably worth a fortune." The boy said, chuckling.

"I don't care about money. I leave that to my parents." I said, turning my eyes back to the painting.

He walked closer to the painting, and examined it carefully.

"Hmm." He said.

He stepped back, and pulled out a notebook.

"Are you a journalist?" I asked.

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"No, I'm a college student. Guertena is one of our subjects." He explained, jotting down a few notes.

"Hmm." I said.

Silence covered us.

"What's your name?" I asked, not knowing why I would want it.

"Gerald, but you can call me Garry." He said, with a smile.

"Nice to meet you Garry. I'm Ib." I said.

"Ib?" He repeated giving me a strange look.

"What? I didn't choose my own name, Gerald." I replied, my smirk returning.

He chuckled, and nodded.

"Point taken. Nice to meet you, Ib." He said, holding out his hand.

I shook it.

"Nice to meet you to, Garry." I said again.

We smiled.

"Okay, I'll come see you before the exhibit closes, all right?" He said, as he turned to leave.

"Sure. Come see my parents." I said, and began to explore once more.

* * *

The various paintings and sculptures were interesting, but none of them, aside from _The Hanged Man_, really caught my interest. I explored the bottom floor, but still found nothing interesting. I sighed, and returned to the top floor.

"Ib!"

I turned and saw Mother and Father, walking toward me.

"Did you find anything that caught your eye?" Mother asked me.

"No." I said.

They looked at each other.

"Well, maybe there was something that you over-looked?" Father said.

"Maybe." I said.

"Well, were going to be here for a while longer, so why don't you look again?" Mother said.

"Okay." I said, and walked off.

I walked around the top floor, and noticed a path to the back of the exhibit. I walked down the hall, and came across a large painting.

It showed a mass of darkness, and I got a feeling of death from it. I saw glimpses of most of the other paintings I saw in the gallery.

I looked at the name plate.

_? World_

I don't know that word…

All of a sudden, the lights went out.

I looked around, but I couldn't see or hear anyone.

_What's going on?_

I walked around the now empty gallery.

"Mother?" I called.

The paintings, while they were creepy in the light, now looked demonic in the dark.

"Father?" I called, louder.

I reached the door, hoping to leave, but the door was locked fast.

"Wha-Why is it locked?" I asked myself.

I ran over to the window, and tried to force it open.

"Huh, HUH! Huhuhuh…" I panted.

"No good…" I said, and raised my head.

I screamed.

Red liquid was pouring out of the window frame.

I fell to the ground and crawled backwards, whimpering in fear.

The liquid stopped flowing, and I sat there for what seemed like an hour.

_Okay, Ib. Get up. Take it nice and easy…_

I rose to my feet, and slowly walked back up the stairs.

The gallery felt colder than it was before, but it might just be because of how white I must look right now.

I reached the top of the stairs, and I looked at the window across from the stairs.

A shadow of a figure walked passed.

I ran at the window, banging on the glass.

"Hey! HEY! Help me, please…" I sobbed into the glass.

I collapsed against the glass, sobbing quietly.

"Mother… mom…mommy…" I cried.

"Father… dad… daddy…" I was begging now.

"Garry…" I said, my legs giving way.

I slid to the ground, tears running freely down my face.

"It's just a dream… It's just a dream…" I murmured to myself.

Yeah. It must be a dream. Any second now I would wake up, see my parents, go to school-

_**BANG! BANG!**_

"AH!" I shouted, looking up.

There were marks in the window were someone had banged there hand on it.

"W-Who's there?" I asked my voice shaky.

No one answered.

"Right…" I murmured.

I stood up.

"There is no point in sulking on the floor. I'll go find my parents, find Garry…" I trailed off.

Why would I want to find Garry?

"He's my friend, that's why." I said aloud.

I made off to explore the top floor.

Several paintings decided to scare me, the cat painting meowed at me, scaring the life out of me, and a painting of a man coughed.

I finally made it to the massive painting.

This is where it began, so there has to be something here.

I looked around the picture, and then the frame. I was about to give up hope, when I saw some blue liquid leak out of the painting.

I walked over to it, squinting to see what was there.

_**cOme BeLOwe, iB! I haVe soMetHing to ShOw YoU!**_

There was several splats, and red liquid spread over the floor.

It formed letters:

_**COME IB**_

I ran. The fear was building up inside me, and I felt the tears surface again. What was this?

"A dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream…" I chanted.

_It's not a dream._

That one thought resonated through my head, and I stopped dead.

"It's not a dream…" I whispered.

It hit me all at once. It was too real to be a dream, so it must be real. The logic shook me to my core, and I fell to my knees once more.

"Please, please someone help me…" I begged the darkness.

I sobbed quietly on the floor, but then I heard something.

Footsteps.

Fear coursed through me as the footsteps became louder, and louder, until the stopped. Then, I heard a splash.

I rose to my feet, my curiosity getting the better of me. I walked into the room with the large floor mural, and I saw blue footprints, leading into the mural. The surface of the mural moved, and shimmered like water.

"That's ridicules. It's just paint on the floor…" I trailed off.

I took off my shoe, and decided to test this 'water'. I touched it with my shoe, and it went in.

Like water.

I could see through it as well.

On the other side, or at the bottom, were a set of purple stairs.

"Okay, okay, okay. You can do this. You can DO this!" I repeated to myself.

I put my shoe back on, and put one foot into the water.

Immediately, it pulled me in.

I screamed, but it was muffled by the water. Something was pulling me down, and fast.

I struggled to escape, but the force disappeared. I opened my eyes to see I was standing on the purple stairs I saw through the water.

And I was dry.

"Okay. Crazier things have happened…" I said to myself.

I walked down the stairs, and I saw two corridors. One lead to a door, the other lead to a table. I choose the table.

As I walked down the corridor, I could see the word COME written all over the walls.

I shuddered.

I reached the table, and on there was a vase, with a red rose inside.

There was also a note on the table.

_When this rose ?, you too shall ?._

What is that word?

I shrugged, and tucked the note into my pocket.

I looked at the rose. It was beautiful, surely to beautiful to be real. I reached, out and grabbed it, and realized that it was real.

Then I noticed something else.

It was wilting.

Wilting…

Wilts!

I grabbed the note out of my pocket.

_When this rose wilts, you too shall wilt._

The message, now that I understood it, scared me.

The rose had three petals.

I tugged at one, and pulled it off.

A sharp pain shot through my whole body, and I gasped and fell over. The pain was so intense; it made me want to throw up.

The pain eventually subsided, and I stood up.

_When this rose wilts, you too shall wilt._

Two petals left…

I tucked the rose into my top pocket, were I could keep an eye on it.

As I did, the table suddenly moved out of the way, revealing a door.

I was sceptical about anything in this weird place, but I had to get out. I had to progress.

I opened the door, and I was met with a sight I did not expect to see.

First of all, there was a key on the floor. Why it was there, I don't know.

But, that's not what surprised me.

On the wall, there was a large painting of a boy.

He was dressed in armour, gleaming in the sunlight, and had a rose engraved on the chest plate. His black hair was just cut before his eyes, and his piercing blue eyes stared off into the distance. He had a small smile on his face, and his hand rested upon the pommel of a shining sword, impaled in the ground.

He looked like a figure out of a fairy tale.

I walked over to the portrait, and looked at the nameplate.

_Roland, Rose Knight of Justice_

Rose Knight? It can't be a coincidence that he was here, just after I picked up the rose. I grabbed the rose form my pocket, and held it up the painting. Yeah, the engraved symbol looked just like this one.

Then, there was a loud scrape.

I trying to spin around, to leave the room, but I slipped on the key. I fell, but caught myself on the painting. A sharp pain went through me, and I dropped to the ground in agony. I felt like it lasted for an eternity, but it faded. I stood up, then realized that I had accidently ripped one of the petals off.

_One left…_

I looked at the painting, and I saw the rose petal sticking out of it. I quickly plucked it out, hoping it didn't cause any damage.

It didn't.

I sighed with relief, and left the room.

And immediately wished I hadn't.

The COME writing on the walls was replaced by THEIF, written in red letters.

I ran down the wall, watching as more of the letters appeared on the floor, walls, celling, anywhere. I heard glass breaking, and I ran faster.

I heard heavy footsteps behind me, but I didn't stop to look. I shoved the key in the door, unlocked it, and ran through.

As soon as I was through, I locked from this side.

I sighed, and collapsed against the wall.

The rose was still tightly gripped in my hand, and I looked around the room I was in.

Green.

There was a long corridor in front of me, and to the left of me. There were basic paintings on the wall, and what looked like an ant jumping around.

I stood, and saw a vase. I walked up to is, and examined it. It had a little water left in it. There was a note next to it.

_When your life wilts, use life's tears to revive it._

I read it over again, to make sense of what it said.

My life wilts, is it talking about the rose?

I put the rose in the vase, and suddenly the rose came back to life in flash.

What was one petal became five, and I felt my pain disappear. I looked in the vase, but there was no more water.

"Damn." I said.

I looked down the corridor. The ant was still jumping around.

"Hey, miss!"

I looked around.

"Who said that?" I asked.

"ME!"

I looked at the ant jumping around.

"You?" I asked.

"Yep! Who else is here?" The ant said.

I shook my head.

"Again, not the weirdest thing I've seen recently." I murmured.

"Miss? Why are you here?" The ant asked, settling down.

"I, I got lost. Could you show me the way out?" I asked, kneeling down.

"Well, I don't know how to get out of the gallery, but I do know how to get out of this room!" The ant declared.

"Really? How?" I asked.

The ant jumped in the direction of the other hallway.

"There's a door down there, but you need a key." He said.

"Then where's the key?" I asked, getting impatient.

The ant jumped again.

"There's an ant painting down there! Could you get it? You'll need it to get the key." The ant said.

I sighed, and nodded.

"Wait!" The ant shouted as I got up. "Stay down the middle!" He warned.

I nodded, and walked down the corridor, making sure to stay down the middle.

As I walked, suddenly, a black hand shot out of the wall.

I screamed, and jumped back to the other wall, but a hand shot out of that one two. It grasped at me, and gripped my rose. It tore off two petals, and I kept back the pain, and ran toward the end, keeping to the middle. More hands tried to grab me, but I was out of their reach. I got to the end, and threw up from the pain.

My vision blurred, and I fell to my knees. I saw the ant jumping toward me.

"Are you okay?" It asked, but his voice sounded muffled.

"I-I'm," I tried to speak, but my vision swam, and I passed out.

**AN: how was it? Good? Bad? Somewhere in-between? Leave a review! Your comments and advice (or criticisms) are always welcome!**

**Well, this took about two days to write, so hopefully I'll have another chapter by the end of the week.**

**See Ya!**


	3. Chapter 2: A Rose Knight

Chapter 2: A Rose Knight

I slowly opened my eyes to see green.

Green walls, green floor, green celling.

Black hands.

I gasped and slid up to the wall behind me, hugging myself.

Those things…

What are they?

"You're awake!"

I looked down, and saw the ant from before.

"Wh-What are those things?" I asked, scared.

"Them? I call them 'Hands'. Pretty inventive, huh?" The ant said, jumping onto my shoulder.

I looked at the 'Hands' again. The just waved there, waiting.

"Anyway, I told you to stay in the middle! You wouldn't have gotten hurt if you had!" The ant said, suddenly angry.

"They scared me." I whispered.

"Oh. Sorry about yelling, miss. I just didn't want you to get hurt. Not many people come here, so I didn't want you to die." The ant, looking sad.

I nodded, and stood up. I looked over at the door.

"Locked?" I asked.

"Yep. But I know were the key is." The ant said. "Grab that painting!"

I grabbed the painting off the wall.

"Now, we've got to go back." The ant said.

I nodded.

I walked back thought the corridor, the hands trying their best to grab me. But, as the ant said, if I stayed in the middle, I would have been fine.

I saw one of the hands holding two red petals.

I was down to three petals. I have to be careful.

We made it back to the paintings, and the ant directed me to the door at the end of the hall.

We came to a gap in the floor.

"I'll wait here." The ant said, and jumped off my shoulder.

"What do I do?" I asked.

"Lay down the painting over the hole. There's a key in the other room." The ant explained.

I nodded, and placed the picture over the gap.

It looked sturdy, but the canvas could rip, and I'll fall to my death.

"Go on." The ant urged from behind me.

I took a deep breath, and stepped onto the painting.

_**SPLAT!**_

I looked down in shock, thinking that the canvas had ripped, but what I saw was horrifying.

The ant was dead.

Ant organs and blood splattered all over the canvas, and a chill was sent through my whole body.

Wait…

"Hey, are you all right?" I asked the ant behind me.

No answer.

I turned around, and I saw the ant.

Dead.

The same as the ant in the painting, his blood and guts splattered everywhere.

I felt a tear role down my face. The first and only friendly face I had seen in this hell.

And I killed him.

I stepped across the painting, wiping the tears away from my face.

"I have to keep going, for his sake." I said.

I opened the door, and I saw a key lying on the ground.

I stepped forward to the key, but stopped.

There was a headless statue there.

I recognised it from the gallery.

_Death of the Individual_, I think.

It just stood there.

It seemed like it was…

Guarding the key.

Regardless, I need the key to move on. I stepped forward, and tapped the statue.

Nothing happened.

I pulled my arm back, and slapped it.

Still nothing, but I hurt my hand.

I turned around and picked up the key.

Then I heard scraping.

I turned around, and saw that the statue had moved closer.

I stepped back, and it stepped forward.

I turned and ran, but it was way ahead of me. It ran faster than I did, and knocked me to the ground. My rose flew out of my pocket, and landed a good three meters away. The statue held me down, and scratched me with stone fingernails.

The pain spread over my face, and tears began to cascade down form my eyes, I saw a petal fall off my rose, and I knew I was going to die.

I closed my eyes, and waited for death.

"Get back!"

I opened my eyes to see a flash of silver, and the statue flew back into the wall. A boy stepped inform of me, his red cape trailing behind him. He held a sword in his hand, which was the same colour as my rose. His silver armour gleaming in the light, looking greener because of the room. His black hair was slick with sweat, and his cold, blue eyes showed fierce determination.

"You shall not harm the innocent ever again, monster!" He cried, his old accent thick, and he brought the sword down on the statue, which screamed, and faded away.

The boy sighed, and his sword glowed and changed colour to silver. The colour rose form the blade, and came together to form a rose.

My rose!

He grabbed the rose, and turned toward me.

"My thanks, m'lady, for lending me your rose. It settled the battle much quicker." He said, his manner very noble, and stiff.

"N-No problem, but you don't have to call me m'lady. My name is Ib." I said, blushing slightly.

He smirked.

"Very well then, Lady Ib. I am Sir Roland." He said, and bowed low.

"Sir Roland?" I said, thinking.

Sir Roland, Sir Roland, Roland, Roland, Knight, Sword, Roland, painting, Roland.

"Oh! There is a painting of you back there!" I exclaimed, pointing to the wall that separated us from the previous room.

He nodded, and sheathed his sword.

"I am one of the Rose Knights, knights bound to protect those bound to the rose. Or, at least we were..." He trailed off, hanging his head.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Something is wrong with me memory." He said, rubbing his forehead.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I cannot remember what happened before I awoke in this place. I know the basics, but…" He trailed off, a confused look on his face.

I came up to him, and looked up to him.

"Don't be sad." I said, and grabbed his gloved hand.

He looked down at me with a curious expression.

"You said there were others like you, right? Then they would know what happened!" I exclaimed.

He smiled, and nodded.

"Yes. They would indeed."

"Then let's go find them!" I exclaimed.

His smile faded into a frown.

"No. You should stay here. I remember enough to know that this place is dangerous." He said.

I pouted.

"No. I want to get out of here, and staying here won't help me escape, will it?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Maybe so, but this place is far too dangerous for a defenceless child. Please, stay here." He commanded.

"No. I'm going, but if you're so concerned about me, why don't you protect me?" I said.

"I can't protect you from everything!" He said.

I glared at him.

"I am going. End of conversation." I said, and walked back to the door.

"No. You're not. End of conversation." Roland said, grabbing my shoulder.

I turned and glared at him.

"You said you are tasked with protecting those who are bound to the rose?" I asked, my tone icy.

"Yes." He replied, not fazed by me at all.

"Then, if I am trapped here, so are you." I said, a smirk appearing on my face.

He raised one eyebrow questioningly.

"You cannot protect me if you leave me, can you?" I said, my tone turning sweet.

He opened his mouth to argue, then closed it.

"Fine. But, you are not to leave my sight. Understood?" He demanded.

I nodded, and stepped back through the door.

I grimaced when I saw the dead ant painting. I took a step toward the painting, but-

"Lady Ib, allow me to test if it is safe." Roland said, appearing at my side.

I scowled.

"Roland, please refrain from calling me 'Lady'. It unnerves me." I said, being as proper as I could to ascertain my point.

He smirked again.

"Very well, Madam Ib." He replied, giving a low bow.

I scowled once more.

"Fine. Lady is fine." I said, pouting.

He smirked, and stepped across the painting.

"It seems safe. Proceed." He reported, and stepped off the painting.

_TEAR!_

"Wha-" Roland gasped, and stumbled away from the gap.

"Look what you did! Now I can't get across." I said, glaring at him.

A nervous smile appeared on his face, and he rubbed the back of his head.

"I-I thought I would see if it was safe." He mumbled.

I sighed.

"Hey, why don't you jump?" He asked.

I looked at him like he was insane.

"I'll catch you, don't worry." He smiled.

I sighed again.

"Make sure you catch me, okay?" I said, and got ready to jump.

His warm smile slipped into his familiar smirk, and he held out his arms.

I took a deep breath, and leaped across the gap. The lack of ground sent my head spinning, and I thought I was falling.

I screamed.

But then I felt a strong pair of arms grab me, and I opened my eyes to see Roland's smirking face.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I pushed myself out of his arms, and nodded.

He grinned, and motioned for the door.

"Would you like me to go first?" He asked.

I nodded, and he grinned.

He placed a hand on his sword, and pushed the door open to reveal…

Nothing.

"Clear." He said his voice commanding and serious.

I nodded, and he led the way out into the corridor.

"Did you pick up the key?" He asked.

I nodded again, not trusting my voice.

We walked down the middle of the hall, trying our hardest not to get any ware near the hands.

"Couldn't you just cut them off?" I whispered to Roland.

"Why? As long as we stay out of the way, they won't hurt us." He said, as we reached the end of the hall.

"I-I guess…" I stuttered.

As we came across the door, we found a note nailed to it.

"That wasn't there before…" I said.

Roland reached up and tore the note off the wall. His eyes looked over the note, and his eyebrow rose.

"What is it?" I asked, holding out my hand.

He handed over the note, and I discovered it was written in fine cursive, similar to my mother's writing.

_Dearest Roland,_

_During my frequent visits to the lower levels of the gallery, I discovered you._

_Asleep, but very much alive._

_They lied to me, and I will never forgive them._

_As you lay there, asleep on the cold floor, I made a decision._

_They shall not harm you, me or anyone again._

_I have left them a message, so that they know that I shall not return._

_I may never cross paths with you again, but this gallery is small._

_But, if I never see you again, know that I am sorry._

_I am sorry for doubting you._

_Your partner, fellow knight,_

_And friend._

**AN: Hey all! You may or may not be happy to know that I have wrote about six chapters of this story for the next month when I can't be writing, so I'll be posting every now and again.**

**Special Thanks go out to Lilly927, who submitted her knight "Lilly".**


	4. A Sad Note

_**A Note Regarding KOTR…**_

Hey all, and I have some sad-ish news.

Because I have returned to school, I have a new writing plan.

Writing "P5: The Worlds Cross" at home, while writing "Persona 4: Project Silent" at school.

Sadly, Knights of the Rose does not, obviously, fit into this schedule.

Juggling three stories is just proving too much for me, so I will have to drop one.

KOTR is the one that I have put the least time to, so it's for the chopping block.

Don't worry, I won't be cancelling it, just putting it on hiatus.

I won't take it up again until either P5: TWC or P4: PS is done.

Further apologies go out to Lilly927, who had submitted her knight.

Sorry about this, and see ya later.

ReverendDex.


End file.
